Auto Central Louisville KY, December 25, 2011;Each week
Larry
Nutson, The Auto Channel's Chicago Bureau Chief, along with
Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Detroit Bureau give you
the past week's automotive news highlights you may have
missed. If you are a car nut like we all are here you can easily
"catch up" on not only this past weeks automotive news but the past 16
years 876,342 automotive stories, articles, reviews,
rants and raves by just searching for the
subject you are interested in The Auto Channel's
Automotive News Archive...Merry Christmas, get smart, have fun see ya
next week LN.

* Saab's nine-month struggle for survival appears to have come to
an end. A
Swedish court approved the bankruptcy petition and began liquidation this
week.
No word yet on whether dealers will be compensated. An outside
administrator
will begin winding down the Saab North America unit. Might be some bargains
out
there for left-over Saabs. But, we don't know what will happen with
warranty
service, since warranty coverage was suspended. However, General Motors,
Saab's
former owner, said it would honor warranties on all models sold when it
owned
the Swedish automaker.

* With the North American International Auto Show in Detroit coming
up in a
couple of weeks we're getting a rush of hints about what will be shown
there -
everything from a sporty version of the new Chevy Sonic to a sexy Lexus 2+2
sport coupe. Looks like the show is gaining strength back after some dismal
years. Many of the exotics and high line cars will be in their own show
off-site
at the MGM Grand Casino nearby. Notable absences altogether from Detroit
this
year will be Jaguar and Land Rover. They will be emphasizing the New Delhi
show
instead.

* GM's new global product development boss, Mary Barra, spoke to
the
Automotive Press Association last week in Detroit fielding questions about
product strategies, Volt battery concerns and what it's like sloshing
around in
the shoes of her predecessor, the larger-than-life Bob Lutz. Answering a
question from this reporter it is obvious that she is not a car nut like
Lutz,
but she sees the importance the product part of the car business over the
bean
counting. Looks like she has a foot in both worlds.

* Lexus finally announced pricing this week for the new GS series
they
introduced to the press a few weeks ago in Las Vegas. Base price for the
all-new, and mighty cool, GS 350 will be $46,900 which amazingly represents
no
increase over the last GS 350. You can read our review here on
TheAutoChannel.com, but to put it in a nutshell - the new GS series models
are
chasing the German competitors out the door.

* The National Transportation Safety Board stuck their bureaucratic
necks
out last week strongly recommending that all mobile phones be banned in
cars.
That drew a rash of criticism, most notably Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood
who made it clear he would not support the ban. Can you imagine the
enforcement
nightmare that would be?

* Google Zietgeist and General Sentiment announced the results of a
study
regarding automotive internet buzz. "While Audi ranked below BMW on both
the
Google and General Sentiment lists, the "progressive luxury" automaker was
the
most positively discussed auto brand in 2011. Jeep received the most
negative
press bringing up the rear with a Sentiment score of only +47 and a ninth
place
discussion total. Ford held strong with the second highest level of
discussion,
and it tied for fourth place for Sentiment."

* The Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) is considered a
general measure
of the health of the auto industry. Edmunds this week adjusted their
projection
upward for calendar 2012 to 13.4 million units. They caution, however, that
"we
may have some sales speed bumps to deal with next year."

* TheAutoChannel.com's Detroit editor, together with film maker
Mark Ducker,
have put together an automobile fine art show in the lobby of the Chase
Tower in
downtown Detroit featuring an even dozen of the best automobile artists in
the
country. Free and open to the public from January 6th to January 29th it
will
run concurrently with the North American International Auto Show. So, any
of you
who are attending NAIAS might want to check it out - only five blocks from
the
auto show site. A free opening reception is planned for Saturday, January
7th
from 6 to 9 PM. Details at: www.detroitknowscars.com.

* Nissan is recalling nearly 34,000 Sentra compact cars because of
a battery
cable problem that could cause the engines to stall.Nissan also is
recalling
more than 28,000 Juke small crossover SUVs from the 2011 model year. A
turbocharger bracket problem can cause engine stalling.

* There may be a Chevy Cruze station wagon in your future. Road &
Track magazine
has posted spy photos of the Cruze wagon being testyed in northern Europe.

* The 2012 Cadillac CTS sedan and wagon and SRX crossover have
received a
five-star crash test rating from U.S. safety regulators at the National
Highway
Traffic Safety Administration. Other 2012 GM models that have received the
rating include the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and the Chevrolet Cruze, Volt
and
Traverse.

* Next Autoworks, the San Diego based startup that planned to
produce cars in a
former GM facility in Monroe, LA, is cutting staff and consolidating after
failing to secure a $320 million government loan from the Department of
Energy.
Political and credit-risk concerns are supposed reasons for the denial of
the
funding. The Solyndra solar panel bankruptcy is indeed a big deal!

* Nissan will reveal the Nissan Pathfinder Concept on January 9 at
the North
American International Auto Show in Detroit. Most likely a very close
representaion of what will come to market next fall. The Pathfinder has
been
around for 25 years and has a strong following of loyal owners.

* Although still a year away from production, Tesla has announced
the price of
its Model S Sedan at $57,400, after the $7500 federal tax credit. The full
MSRP
is $64,900 for the 5-passenger sedan that has a 160 mile range with its
40kw-hr
battery.

* General Motors is recalling almost 20,000 Cadillac SRX crossover
vehicles,
mostly in China and the United States, due to potential transmission
defects.
GM's Chinese joint venture, Shanghai GM, is recalling 9,862 of the compact
luxury SUVs in that country, while GM is recalling 8,789 in the United
States.

* California is launching the â€œCheck Your
Numberâ€??? campaign that urges drivers to
hold off changing their oil so often. Why? Itâ€™s a common
misconception that you
should change your oil every 3,000 miles, which wastes millions of gallons
of
oil every year. About 50 percent of California drivers change their oil at
the
3,000 mile mark. The truth is, with all the improvements in oils, friction
proofing and car engines, you should be changing your oil at about every
7,500
to 10,000 miles. BMW is up to 15,000 miles. California officials say that
by
waiting longer between oil changes, the state will be able to save about 10
million gallons of oil a year.

* And in the world of motorsports, the 2012 IndyCar series 15-race
schedule has
no stops in Chicago or Milwaukee, and of course Las Vegas. A new stop is in
Detroit after a 4-year hiatus. In NASCAR, Kurt Busch landed a job driving
the
No. 51 Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing. It's just about two months until the
Daytona 500.

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